Don't Settle Your Wrongful Death Case Without Legal Counsel

Losing a loved one in an accident is obviously an awful thing. It will turn your world upside down in so many ways that you will have a hard time maintaining an equilibrium. This is all the more true if the death was caused by someone else be they a drunk driver, negligent doctor or what have you. In such a situation, you have to be very careful about how you proceed from a legal perspective.

Insurance companies are not "good" or "bad". They idea of them caring about you is laughable, but so is the idea that they are out to get you. Instead, you must understand that an insurance company is a financial institution that is managing risk. The company is trying to make a profit as every company does and should. To do this, an insurance company tries to maximize revenues and minimize expenditures. While this would seem to suggest the insurance company is unwilling to pay out money unless forced, sometimes the opposite is true.

In a wrongful death scenario, an insurance company may surprise you by coming forward, admitting the liability of their insured and being ready to write you a large check immediately. Does this mean the insurance company is being good to you? No. It means the insurance company recognizes the case is a loser from a payout perspective and is trying to settle with you for an amount smaller than it would have to pay out if you get a lawyer who will assert all your rights. Again, the company is a financial risk manager. The managers are simply trying to minimize the ultimate expenditure.

There is a second thing you need to be very clear about. Wrongful death cases are big money cases. The issue is not so much punishing someone for the loss, but the way damages are calculated. For instance, a surviving spouse will recover the loss of income brought in by the deceased not only this year, but for every year that the deceased would have been projected to bring in an income. If your spouse brought in $50,000 a year and would have worked another 20 years, that is a million dollars on just this single damage claim. There are plenty other claims that can also be made. If you settle with the insurance company for $500,000, you are leaving a lot on the table.

The loss of a loved one will have your head spinning for many obvious reasons. If an insurance company rep suddenly wants to write you a check, be very suspicious. You can be the claim is probably worth much more than that check.

About the Author:

Thomas Ajava is with WrongfulDeathAttorneysSanDiego.com - where you can wrongful death attorneys in San Diego to review your case and help you obtain all you are owed.

Author: Thomas Ajava